One of the first live jazz experiences of the young pianist Sámuel Baló was a Dresch Quartet concert, he admits, and now he plays on the Opus stage with the excellence of ethno-jazz as a colleague. The father of Sámuel Baló is the drummer István Baló, who is, among others, Mihály Dresch's old musician friend, so  he was born into this atmosphere. No wonder that the musical experiences that have valued him since childhood are reflected in his music. He studied jazz piano in Graz, an institution (Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Graz) whose main profile is the high-level teaching of mainstream jazz. However, his teacher, Olaf Polziehn, placed at least as much emphasis on conveying an approach that teaches openness, overcoming prejudice against genres. Sámuel Baló synthesizes these experiences in compositions in which the elements of hardbop and modal jazz form an organic unity with Hungarian folk music motifs. With his trio formed in the spring of 2020, in which Richter Ambrus plays drums and Márk Miskolczi on double bass, they present Samu’s own compositions at their concert in Opus, with the participation of Mihály Dresch.

facebook.com/samuelbalomusic